Guide bar shogging means for knitting machines



Jan. 1, 1957 J, HELD '2,775,881

GUIDE BAR SHOGGING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES g INVENTOR. l Jose/h Held A TTORNE Jan. 1, 1957 J, HELD 2,775,881

GUIDE BAR SHOGGING MEANS FCR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 26, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Joseyn He B2i/X0@ cated adjacent one end of the guide bar.

United States Patent Office latented Jan. 1, 1957 GUIDE BAR SHOGGING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Joseph Held, West Lawn, Pa., assigner to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of 'Pennsylvania Application August 26, 1955, Serial No. 530,670

Claims. (Cl. 66-86) This invention relates to warp knitting machines and more particularly to improvements in the warp glide bar shogging mechanism of such machines.

In warp knitting machines the warp yarns to be formed into loops are fed to the needles by guide members carried in one or more guide bars extending parallel to the needles of the machine. Each of the guide bars is shogged in opposite directions lengthwise along the needle row to carry the yarns to selected needles in the row according to a predetermined pattern and to lay or lap the yarns around the selected needles which then form the yarns into loops. The movement of the guide bar is controlled by engagement of a follower means, on or connected to the bar, with a cam or other pattern means lo- In the usual practise, the follower means is maintained in engagement with the pattern means by a coil type tension spring which is connected between the end of the bar and a fixed part of the machine. In the slower types of warp knitting machines the guide bars may be moved at the rate of several hundred times a minute which causes the coils of the spring to vibrate or surge. This vibration or surge in the spring, however, in no way affects the accuracy of the movements of the bar in response to `the design of the pattern cam. However, in machines operating at high speeds, such as the tricot type warp knitting machine, the guide bar must move several thousand times a minute and the resulting excessive surge of the coils of the spring prevents accurate response of the guide bar to the pattern cam which necessitates a reduction in the speed of the machine in order to prevent the formation of defective fabric and/or damage to the machine. It has also been found that the excessive surging of t-he spring coils causes a rapid deterioration of the spring structure thereby requiring frequent replacement of the springs.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a high speed tricot knitting machine with means for overcoming the above mentioned and other difficulties encountered in the operation of yarn guides in feeding yarns to the needles.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tricot machine with resilient means that is substantially free of vibration when acting at high speeds which resilient means insures an accurate shogging movement of the yarn guide bar in response to the pattern means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tricot knitting machine with a multiple at blade type spring means which is connected to the yarn guide bar to resiliently tension the guide bar during shogging movements thereof in response to the pattern means.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention resides in the novel elements, features of construction and cooperation of parts, as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of a tricot knitting machine showing a yarn guide bar and pattern means for shogging the guide bar along .the needles of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a view partially in end elevation and partially in section taken substantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken along `the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale similar to a portion of Fig. 2 and taken substantially along the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly .to Figs. 1 and 2, thereof, there is shown a portion of the left end of a tricot knitting machine including a transverse frame member 10 which is one of a series of such frame members spaced along the machine and secured to each other by a beam or girt 11 to form a part of the usual framework. The machine is provided with a needle bar 12 having a row of needles 15, and a bar 16 having yarn guides 17 for feeding yarns to the needles. Preferably, two bars 16 are provided, one behind the other, both having yarn guides 17, the bars carrying spaced pairs of brackets, the left one of a pair for the forward bar being shown at 20 in Fig. l. T-he brackets 20 carry spaced members 21 which are mounted for sliding movement in bracket members (not shown) in a manner fully shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 378,852, tiled September 8, 1953. The bracket members are' secured to a shaft 22 which is pivotally mounted in bearings, one of which is shown at 25, the bearings 2S being supported from the girt 11 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The needles 15 and yarn guides 17 are operated in the usual manner to form the yarns into loops by mechanism forming no part of the present invention but which may be the same or similar to that shown in said copending application.

The bars 16 are shogged lengthwise of the needle bar 12 in .the lapping of the yarns around individual needles 15 to form the yarns into loop chains and are also shogged lengthwise between adjacent needles to join the loop chains to each other in forming various fabric patterns. For so shogging the bars 16, the bracket 20 at .the left end of each bar is provided with a socket 26 for a ball 27 which also engages in a socket 30 formed in one end of a rod 31 (Figs. 1 and 3). The other end of the rod 31 has a like socket for engagement with a ball 32 carried in a recess, similar to socket 26, in the head of a threaded stud or bolt 35 adjustably mounted in a member 36 slidably carried in a bracket 37 secured to the frame member 10. The member 36 carries a roller type follower 40 for engagement with the peripheral edge of a cam 41 having a contour designed to shog the bar 16 and yarn guides 17 the desired distances lengthwise of the needle row.

In order to resiliently maintain the follower 40 in engagement with the cam 41, according to the instant invention, the bracket 20 at the left end of each bar 16 carries a stud 42 for anchoring one end of a rod or link 45. The other end of the link 4S is formed into a loop 46 for engagement in a groove 47 in a block 50 (Fig. 6) carried by one end of a flat blade or leaf 51 of a multileaf spring device 52, the leaves or blades of the spring device being superimposed and graduated with respect to each other. The spring device 52 is secured intermediate its ends to a block member 55 by bolts 54, the block member being fixed by a set screw 56 on a shaft 60 (Fig. 5). The ends of the shaft 60 extend from opposite sides of the block 55 for pivotal engagement in a pair of spaced arms 61 projecting from a bracket 62 which is secured to the shaft 22. As shown in Fig, 4, a pair of the projecting arms 61, which pivotally supports a spring device 52, extends from the bracket 62 at opposite sides of the axis of the shaft 22, one of the spring devices being connected to the forward bar and the other to the rearward bar.

Preferably the position of each block member 55 is adjustable about the axis of its shaft 60 to Vary the initial tension transmitted by the respective spring device S2 to the link 45 and bar 16. For this purpose, a stop screw 65 is provided for engagement with an end portion 66 of cach spring device 52 which extends beyond the block member 55 as shown in Fig. 1. The stop screws 65 are adjustably carried in a bracket 67 secured to the shaft 22 and the stop screws are maintained in adjusted position in the bracket by lock nuts 70.

The multi-leaf spring device 52 of the instant invention provides the desired tension on the guide bar 16 whereby the rapid shogging movements of the guide bar is in accurate response to a predetermined pattern as defined by the cam 41. Furthermore, the superimposed flat blades have a stabilizing effect on each other that tends to greatly minimize or entirely eliminate surging of the spring device during the rapid flexing move-ments thereof.

It will be understood that the improvements specifically shown and described by which the above results are obtained, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention disclosed and here'- inafter claimed.

I claim:

l. In a warp knitting machine having a row of needles for knitting yarns into loops, a bar having yarn guides for feeding the yarns to said needles, pattern means for moving said bar lengthwise of the needle row, and resilient means for applying tension to said bar to maintain it in following relation with respect to said pattern means, said resilient means comprising a at leaf spring, and a link connecting said spring to said bar.

2. In a warp knitting machine having a row of needles for knitting yarns into loops, a bar having yarn guides for feeding the yarns to said needles, pattern means for moving said bar lengthwise of the needle row, and resilient means for applying tension to said bar to maintain it in following relation with respect to said pattern means, said resilient means including a spring device having a multiplicity of superimposed flat blades.

3. In a warp knitting machine having a row of needles for knitting yarns into loops, a bar having yarn guides for feeding the yarns to said needles, pattern means for moving said bar lengthwise of the needle row, and resilient means for applying tension to said bar to maintain it in following relation with respect to said pattern means, said resilient means including a spring device having a multiplicity of superimposed at blades, and means for adjusting said spring device to vary the tension applied by said resilient means to said bar.

4. In a warp knitting machine having a row of needles for knitting yarns into loops, a bar having yarn guides for feeding the yarns to said needles, pattern means for moving said bar lengthwise of the needle row, and resilient means for applying tension to said bar to maintain it in following relation with respect to said pattern means, said resilient means comprising a block member mounted on the machine, a spring device having a multiplicity of superimposed at blades secured to said block member, and a link connecting said bar to said spring device.

5. In a Warp knitting machine having a row of needles for knitting yarns into loops, a bar having yarn guides for feeding the yarns to said needles, pattern means for moving said bar lengthwise of the needle row, and resilient means for applying tension to said bar to maintain it in following relation with respect to said pattern means, said resilient means comprising a block member, a fixed mounting in which said block member is pivotally carried, a spring device having a multiplicity of superimposed flat blades secured to said block member, a link connecting said bar to said spring device, and means for adjusting said block member on said mounting to thereby vary the tension applied by said resilient means to said bar.

No references cited. 

